For all those that experience leaks. I found that when my cup leaks, even when it's popped open correctly, that the holes in the rim of my cup were clogged and by cleaning them out with a toothpick and making the holes slightly bigger that my leaking stopped.

Dropscone asked months ago about using a cup after birth, and I have had no problem in terms of fit or leakage. I bought a large diva cup years ago (before having a kid), and it still fit me just fine for my first postpartum period.

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I had a small Mooncup which worked perfectly before I gave birth, and I tried that after and it kept sinking down and sticking out and irritating me. When I was on holiday in Amsterdam there was a store selling the Diva cups so I got a large one of those to compare and contrast, and as I feared that also slips down so I get the end poking me. Not as badly, but I think they did a bit of a crepe job sewing me up, and pelvic floor exercises haven't helped much so far.

_________________"I go to the people with dirty onions and scrawny broccoli." - allularpunk

I've had a divacup for years now, yet now matter how careful I am, I always end up CSI-ing all over the place. The weekend at work, I CSI-ed on the inside of my jeans (which were around my knees). Last month, I CSI-ed all over the stall at the newly refurbished National Maritime Museum. I don't know how I manage this. I carefully remove it, dump the contents, and then have large swathes of toilet paper at the ready to receive it and wipe it down, and yet I always manage to find blood-spatter on the randomest of surfaces when I'm done. Anyone found a method for dealing with a cup without CSI-ing?

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

I do have a really heavy flow, especially the second and third day of my period. I do try to empty it pretty frequently when I'm near a bathroom, but sometimes on those days even emptying it hourly doesn't prevent the CSI.

I envy your light flow, bluedawg!

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

I do have a really heavy flow, especially the second and third day of my period. I do try to empty it pretty frequently when I'm near a bathroom, but sometimes on those days even emptying it hourly doesn't prevent the CSI.

I envy your light flow, bluedawg!

samesies. i have a bad day or two and late night/early mornings are rough.

fupapack wrote:

Has anyone tried the instead softcup?

i have some and i used it once briefly for intimate activities but i don't feel like it's super trustworthy. i still have a box if you want me to mail you one or two to try?

_________________"T-shirts are not allowed in heaven, Karyn. They don't do casual Fridays." - Amandabear

I'd love it if you mailed me one to try. I can get intimate with the divacup if I'm super aroused but a few days ago my bf managed to completely flip it inside of me with his wiener which was just as messy as you would imagine.

I do have a really heavy flow, especially the second and third day of my period. I do try to empty it pretty frequently when I'm near a bathroom, but sometimes on those days even emptying it hourly doesn't prevent the CSI.

I used to have a similar problem coupled with leakage. I take tranexamic acid (an antifibrinolytic) and ibuprofen to reduce the bleeding now. It was messing with my iron stores.

I do have a really heavy flow, especially the second and third day of my period. I do try to empty it pretty frequently when I'm near a bathroom, but sometimes on those days even emptying it hourly doesn't prevent the CSI.

I used to have a similar problem coupled with leakage. I take tranexamic acid (an antifibrinolytic) and ibuprofen to reduce the bleeding now. It was messing with my iron stores.

Not too long ago, I got a prescription for Cyklokapron, which is really helpful on days when I am travelling or otherwise won't have access to a bathroom on an hourly basis. (I try to limit taking it to those days, though, because I've got kidney disease.) But even using it, sometimes the CSI is inevitable.

_________________Ain't no guarantees in life, and nothing that comes out of my vagina can change that. - Erika Soyf*cker

The stuff I take is branded Cyklo-F and over-the-counter, but they're otherwise identical. I find it tends to work best if taken consistently from the moment I start bleeding for the first 2-3 days, which I guess isn't feasible for you. I still combine it with ibuprofen (i.e. the NSAID that happens to be easy to find) because I always bleed more if I'm cramping. Works better than either one alone in my case.

My mooncup will not stay in place. I try to put it as far down as possible, but it will get up in there (ifyouknowwhatImean) no matter how I place it. I think this causes the problems with leaks I've had. Does anyone else have the same problem and any ideas on how to solve it? Do you think a larger size (I have the small one, am young and have not given birth) would help?

pannkakan, I think the leakage is due to the seal not popping. I had a time when I would be paranoid about leakages so I would run a finger around the rim to make sure it had popped... which obviously resulted in the seal opening.I got my mooncup when I was 27 and no children, and I got the large one simply because I believe that if you have a regular sex life then the large fits better... ifyouknowwhatImean.

_________________I dunno, I guess I just get enthused over eating big ol' squishy balls. - Interrobang?!

My cup also wanders and leaks slightly on heavy days and it's a large size (Lunette). I think it's a combination of how stiff the material is and muscles shifting things about. Towards the beginning of my cycle my cervix is quite far down too. I have a smaller, softer one (UK Mooncup) from before I realised that it couldn't handle my torrent of blood. That one also moves about but doesn't tip over in doing so. I've never been able to eliminate leaks entirely in over 5 years, and I always check it has actually unfolded.

I'm sorry, but I just have to share a moderately embarrassing/bizarre story, because only DivaCup appreciators could find it amusing.

After a frustrating week of pre-period moodiness and cramps that did not seem to be producing any period, I felt some cramps that seemed to signal that I could finally get this period going and over with. I was at work, so I looked to see if I had remembered to pack my Diva Cup, and I couldn't find it, so I dug into our emergency tampon supply, and just popped one in.

Throughout the day, I felt like the tampon wasn't fitting quite right, but I figured that I hadn't worn one in a couple years, and they usually slipped downwards uncomfortably when I used to wear them, so I ignored it.

Near the end of the day, I took out the tampon, and there was nothing on it, but I was SURE I was getting my period. A moment or two later, I realized that I HAD put in my Diva Cup in the morning, and I had somehow been wearing the DivaCup above the tampon all day. I was mildly horrified at what could be going on inside my lady parts all day without my knowledge/recollection. Then again, I have yet to be pregnant, so I'm sure the strangest is yet to come.

I've found that if you scrub your cup with baking soda at the end of each cycle, it takes a lot of the stain out. I was also wondering if soaking it with denture tabs might get rid of the stains, too.

I have PCOS so I only get 3 periods a month (after hormone pills) so it had been a while since I had seen my cup and it looked a lot more stained than I remembered. Popped in here looking for a solution and I just knew someone on the PPK would pull through. This worked so well I was actually amazed and now my cup looks like new!

I don't concern myself with the staining... it's not like anybody's looking at it anyway.

Also, sex whilst using a DivaCup sounds awful.

_________________Yay, and verily he said unto them, "Eat this nooch for it tastes kind of like cheese, and drink this kombucha for it is awesome. And don't be a vegan hating douche because no one likes an asshat." - DancesWithTofu

PPK! I'm a menstrual cup user now! I got fed up last month when I was cleaning stains off of my clothing pretty much every day and I bought a MeLuna. I had a hard time getting it in at first, but after a couple of different folds, I found one that works. OH MY GOODNESS is this thing better than changing pads and cleaning up blood stains!